Page 90 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

these parts of the world, people’s personal use of their own time is often considered to be a more important
priority than the clock. Nutrition counselors need to be aware of these different customs so they can better
serve and understand clients’ behaviors and choices. Start each session by setting a neutral professional setting.
Assess the situation by listening and observing mannerisms of your clients. Be cautious in shaking hands,
touching a client, or making assumptions in the initial introduction phase of the counseling session.

Understanding Verbal Behaviors

In addition to understanding nonverbal behaviors, nutrition and dietetics professionals must also be privy to
how verbal behaviors vary among different cultures. Slang is a verbal habit that professionals should be
cautious about using in the workplace with employees or clients. In the American culture, people often greet
each other informally by asking “How’s it going?” or ask others to repeat what they just said by interjecting
“What?” In many cultures, this level of familiarity would be considered improper and even disrespectful and
condescending. Instead, dietetics professionals should greet clients by saying “Welcome” or another formal
greeting. When they would like a client to repeat a statement, they should say “Excuse me” and then ask
politely for the client to rephrase in their own words.

Similarly, nutrition and dietetics professionals should pay attention to how they address their clients.
Americans are among the most informal people worldwide and frequently call both friends and strangers by
their first names. Nutrition and dietetics professionals should ask how the client would like to be addressed.
Nearly all other cultures expect a more formal and respectful approach, using the person’s surname. 31,32 For
example, if a client’s full name is Diana Morales, the health professional should refer to her as Ms. Morales,
not Diana.

Professionals should carefully craft the types of questions they ask their clients. Americans tend to be fairly
direct and ask somewhat personal questions, yet in many cultures direct questions are deemed inappropriate.
They may even cause people to feel uncomfortable.10 Moreover, asking personal questions of a client in order
to obtain personal health and nutrition data may be perceived as intrusive and disrespectful. Therefore, health
professionals may want to try a formal approach rather than a quick, direct approach. Speak slowly and clearly.
Listen first and seek to understand nonverbal behavior in conjunction with verbal conversation.31,32

Dietary managers and staff should try to understand the relationship that the client expects from them as a
service provider.15 In many cultures throughout the world, professionals are held in high regard for their
expertise. Expecting individuals and families to be talkative and assertive may be unrealistic if they expect to
have a dependent role in which they are told what types of foods they should be eating.

Understanding Family Relations

Another factor that nutrition and dietetic professionals must learn and understand is the various types of
family compositions. Families may be patriarchal, matriarchal, nuclear, or extended. Because one’s own culture
generally determines the interactions and composition of one’s family, the roles of each family member may
vary by age or gender. In some non-American cultures, a woman may not be allowed to speak openly, may not
be allowed to work outside the home, and may have to defer to her husband or mother-in-law. In these
cultures, a woman may have an insignificant role in making decisions for both herself and her family. As a
result, counseling sessions may need to include the woman’s father, husband, or whomever is the family’s

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